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State to fund long-awaited road extension in Ingham, Clinton counties

Michigan's new $56.8-billion budget includes nearly $8 million for a long-awaited road project that officials say will relieve traffic congestion and spur development along the Ingham County/Clinton County line.

LANSING -- Michigan's new $56.8-billion budget includes nearly $8 million for a long-awaited road project that officials say will relieve traffic congestion and spur development along the Ingham County/Clinton County line.

Extending Coleman Road from where it ends at West Road in East Lansing to Wood Road in DeWitt Township has been under discussion for more than a decade, according to the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce.

"This is huge for the region," said Steve Japinga, the chamber's director of government relations. "It demonstrates that we can work across municipalities, across aisles, across these boundaries we set on ourselves. It shows we can find a project we all believe in and advocate for it."

The $7.6-million project will relieve traffic congestion in the area along both sides of U.S. 127 that encompasses Eastwood Town Center, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union headquarters and other major financial institutions, officials said.

It also will encourage growth by opening up prime real estate, they said.

"There's a lot of undeveloped land up there that’s just right for economic development and job creation," Japinga said. "This road is going to spur that process."

The project is among the largest of the one-time, infrastructure appropriations or "enhancement grants" tucked into the 2019 budget. That money is on top of the extra $300 million for road projects that lawmakers approved late in the budget process, using unspent money from prior years and unanticipated money from economic growth.

The project is in the district of House Speaker Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt, although a spokesman for him noted the road straddles a county line, crossing three House districts and two Senate districts.

Other infrastructure earmarks include $3 million for Beal City improvements, $2.4 million for Traverse-area recreation and transportation trails and $1.8 million for a road project in the Portage area.

State Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said he'd worked on getting the Coleman Road appropriation since Clinton County leaders and regional development officials approached him three years ago.

"They told me this is absolutely a priority for many reasons," Jones said Wednesday. "Horrible traffic problems were quite a problem there. And, of course, Clinton County wanted to see the extension so they can develop that area. Certainly, that makes a lot of good sense."

The region's legislative caucus pulled together behind the project, and state Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, helped get the appropriation through the House, Jones said.

"It's not easy to get a project like this," he said. "All the stars aligned for me. There was money in the budget this year to do it, and I hadn’t been asking for much of anything."

Government officials and business leaders from Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties have long pushed for the Coleman Road extension, chamber officials said.

"This is a significant win for the entire region and demonstrates what can happen when business, community and elected leaders share a vision and come together to support infrastructure investment and economic growth," chamber President and CEO Tim Daman said in a news release.

East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said the project will have "a significant economic impact" on the city and region.

"It is always rewarding when our state lawmakers can set partisan politics aside, reach across the aisle and work collaboratively for the good of the region," Meadows said in the chamber's news release.